Shade cap

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of a shade cap are disclosed herein. In general, the cap may include a crown with a pair of side regions and a bill extending from a front region of the crown. The cap may further include a pair of ear shades with each ear shade having an inner side coupled to an associated side region of the crown with the inner side of each ear shade positioned above a bottom edge of the crown so that the inner side is spaced above the bottom edge of the crown. Each ear shade may also be positionable between a lowered position and a raised position. When positioned in the lowered position, each ear shade may cover an upper portion of a wearer&#39;s ear. When positioned in the raised position, an outer side of the respective ear shade may be located adjacent the associated side region of the crown and above the inner side of that ear shade. Embodiments of the cap may further include a neck flap detachably coupled to a back region of the crown. Other embodiments of the cap may include a pair of side visors detachably coupled to the bill. In yet another embodiment, the cap may be constructed from a fabric having a UPF rating of 10+ or greater.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to hats and, moreparticularly, to hats that may provide shade to the ears, nose, and neckof a wearer.

BACKGROUND

Hats are often used to help shade a wearer's head from sunlight and arerecommended by health care organizations to help reduce the risk of skindamage (including skin cancer) from exposure to ultraviolet radiationfrom the sun. Baseball-style caps have been popular for a long time,however, they do not provide adequate shading for a wearer's ears andneck. While broad brimmed hats can afford shade to a wearer's ears andneck, such hat styles simply not have as much popular acceptance by thegeneral public as the baseball cap. As a result, there is a need for ahat that combines the popularity of the baseball cap with shadeproviding capabilities for the ears and neck.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of a shade cap are disclosed herein. In general, the cap mayinclude a crown with a pair of side regions and a bill extending from afront region of the crown. The cap may further include a pair of earshades with each ear shade having an inner side coupled to an associatedside region of the crown with the inner side of each ear shadepositioned above a bottom edge of the crown so that the inner side isspaced above the bottom edge of the crown. Each ear shade may also bepositionable between a lowered position and a raised position. Whenpositioned in the lowered position, each ear shade may cover an upperportion of a wearer's ear. When positioned in the raised position, anouter side of the respective ear shade may be located adjacent theassociated side region of the crown and above the inner side of that earshade.

Embodiments of the cap may further include a neck flap detachablycoupled to a back region of the crown. Other embodiments of the cap mayinclude a pair of side visors detachably coupled to the bill. In yetanother embodiment, the cap may be constructed from a fabric having aUPF rating of 10+ or greater.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an embodiment of a shade cap withear shades in a lowered position.

FIG. 2 is a schematic rear view of an embodiment of a shade cap with earshades in a lowered position.

FIG. 3 is a schematic left side view of an embodiment of a shade capwith an ear shade in a lowered position.

FIG. 4 is a schematic right side view of an embodiment of a shade capwith an ear shade in a lowered position.

FIG. 5 is a schematic top view of an embodiment of a shade cap with earshades in a lowered position and side visors attached to the bill of theshade cap.

FIG. 6 is a schematic bottom view of an embodiment of a shade cap withear shades in a lowered position and side visors attached to the bill ofthe shade cap.

FIG. 7 is a schematic front-left side perspective view of an embodimentof a shade cap with an ear shade in a lowered position and side visorsattached to the bill of the shade cap.

FIG. 8 is a schematic front-right side perspective view of an embodimentof a shade cap with an ear shade in a lowered position.

FIG. 9 is a schematic front-left perspective view of an embodiment of ashade cap with an ear shade in a raised position and coupled to thecrown by snap fasteners.

FIG. 10 is a schematic rear-right perspective view of an embodiment of ashade cap with an ear shade in a raised position and coupled to thecrown by snap fasteners and with a neck flap coupled to back of theshade cap.

FIG. 11 is a close up front view of an ear shade in a lowered positionin accordance with an embodiment of a shade cap.

FIG. 12 is a close up side view of an embodiment of a shade cap showingthe spacing between an ear shade and a bottom edge of the crown of theshade cap.

FIG. 13 is a close up bottom view of a back region of an embodiment of ashade cap.

FIG. 14 is a schematic top view of an embodiment of a shade cap kit withdetached side visors and neck flap.

FIG. 15 is a schematic bottom view of an embodiment of a shade cap kitwith a neck flap folded inside the crown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 15, embodiments of a shade cap 10 aredisclosed. The cap 10 may include a crown 12 having a front region 14, aback region 15, and a pair of side regions 16,18 that together define anexterior, an interior and a generally ring shaped or oval bottom edge 20of the crown 12. The bottom edge 20 of the crown 12 defines a bottomopening into the crown 12 adapted for receiving a head of a user (i.e.,a wearer) therein. In one implementation, the crown 12 may be formed bya plurality of panels (e.g., panels 22, 24, 26) that are coupled toadjacent panels by stitching 28 along adjacent sides of the panels. Inanother implementation, the crown 12 may include a plurality of ventholes 30 for providing ventilation into the crown 12.

The back region 15 of the crown 12 may include a cutout 32 locatedadjacent the bottom edge 20 of the crown 12. In one implementation, thecutout 32 may have an arcuate or semicircular periphery. In oneembodiment, the interior of the crown 12 may include a headband 34 thatextends along the bottom edge 20 of the crown 12 adjacent.the front andside regions 14, 16, 18 of the crown 12. The cutout 32 defines a rearbreak in the headband 34 at the back region 15 of the crown 12 along thebottom edge 20 of the crown 12 and may further define a pair of opposingends of the headband 34 that are located at opposing edges of the cutout32.

The back region 15 of the cap 10 may also include a pair of adjustablestraps 36, 38 extending across the cutout 32 from opposite ends of thecutout 32 along the bottom edge 20 of the crown 12. Each adjustablestrap 36, 38 may have an attached end coupled to an associated end ofthe headband 34 with the opposite free end regions of the adjustablestraps 36,38 being coupled together. In one embodiment, a hook and loopfaster 40 (such as the type sold under the trade name VELCRO) may beprovided to detachably couple the free end regions of the adjustablestraps 36,38 together and permit adjustment of the overall size (i.e.,diameter) of the headband 34. As another option, a buckle faster may beprovided to detachably couple the free end regions of the adjustablestraps 36,38 together instead of the hook and loop fastener.

The cap 10 may further include a bill 42 or visor that extends from thefront region 14 of the crown 12. In one embodiment, the bill 42 may belonger in length than a typical baseball cap in order to ensureproviding adequate shading up to the chin of a wearer of the cap.

The cap 10 may further include a pair of ear shades 44, 46 (alsoreferred to as ear visors or side flaps) with each ear shade 44, 46coupled to an associated side region 16, 18 of the crown 12. Each earshade 44, 46 has front and back ends 48, 50, and inner and outer sides52, 54 extending between the front and back ends 48, 50.

The inner side 52 of each ear shade 44, 46 may be coupled to theassociated side region 16, 18 of the crown 12 so that a portion of theback end 50 of the ear shade is positioned adjacent a correspondingportion of the cutout 32 located adjacent one of the ends of theheadband 34. The inner side 52 of each ear shade 44,46 may also coupledto the side region 16, 18 of the crown 12 so that the front end 48 ofeach ear shade 44, 46 is positioned adjacent stitching on the crownbetween the associated side region 16, 18 and the front region 14 of thecrown 12. In such a configuration, a portion of the front end 48 extendsover an adjacent back corner portion of the bill 42 that is positionedadjacent a border defined by the stitching between the side region andfront region of the crown;

The inner side 52 of each ear shade 44,46 may be coupled to theassociated side region 16, 18 of the crown by at least a double line ofstitching 56, 58 that extends along the inner side 52 to the front andback ends 48, 50 of the respective ear shade. In such an embodiment, thelines of stitching 56.58 may be spaced apart from each other betweenabout 0.5 cm and about 1.5 cm and preferably, the lines of stitching56.58 may be spaced apart from each other about 1 cm to help enhance thestrength of the coupling.

The inner side 52 of each ear shade 44,46 may be positioned above thebottom edge 20 of the crown 12 (that defines the bottom opening into thecrown that receives a wearer's head) so that a lower line of thestitching that couples the ear shade to the crown is spaced above thebottom edge 20 of the crown 12 to provide a space or pocket 60 above thebottom edge 20 of the crown 12 for receiving therein an upper portion ofa wearer's ear more comfortably than if the ear shade was attachedimmediately adjacent to the bottom edge of the crown. The lower line ofstitching may be spaced about 0.5 cm and about 1.5 cm from the bottomedge 20 of the crown 12. In an exemplary embodiment, the lower line ofstitching may be spaced apart from the bottom edge 20 of the crown 12 byabout 1 cm.

The front end 48 of each ear shade 44, 46 may have a substantiallystraight inner segment 62 extending from the inner side 52 of the earshade towards the outer side 54 of the ear shade and an arcuate outersegment 64 located between the inner segment 62 and the outer side 54 ofthe ear shade. In one embodiment, a portion of the inner segment 62 ofthe front end 48 of each ear shade may extend over an adjacent backcomer region of the bill 42 to help ensure proper overlap over the bill42 and afford adequate shade to the temple region of a wearer's face.

In one implementation, the inner segment 62 may be longer than the outersegment 64 of the front end 48 of each ear shade 44, 46. In such animplementation, the inner segment 62 may be between about one half toabout three-fourths the overall length of the front end 48 of therespective ear shade. In an exemplary embodiment, the inner segment 62may have a length between about one inch and about three inches. Theouter segment 64 of the front end 48 may be between about one fourth(i.e., one quarter) to about one half and/or about three-fourths theoverall length of the front end 48 of the ear shade. In an exemplaryembodiment, the outer segment 54 may be between about one quarter inchand about one inch.

The back end 50 of each ear shade 44,46 may have a generally arcuateouter periphery that has a radius of curvature that decreases in adirection towards the inner side 52 of the ear shade so that a firstsegment of the back end 50 near the inner side 52 of each ear shadecurves more sharply than a second segment of the back end located nearthe outer side 54 of the respective ear shade.

Each ear shade 44,46 may have a longitudinal fold 66 that extendsbetween the front and back ends 48,50 of the ear shade. The longitudinalfold 66 divides each ear shade into inner and outer regions 68, 70 withthe inner region 68 located between the inner side 52 and thelongitudinal fold 66 of the ear shade and the outer region 70 locatedbetween the outer side 54 and the longitudinal fold 66 of the ear shade.The longitudinal fold 66 may be positioned closer to the inner side 52than to the outer side 54 of each ear shade and may be in a generallyparallel alignment with an adjacent position of the bottom edge 20 ofthe crown 12 so that the inner region 68 of each ear shade and a portionof the corresponding side region 16, 18 of the crown 12 located belowthe coupled portion of the inner side 52 of the ear shade define an earpocket that is adapted for receiving an upper portion of a wearer's eartherein when the cap is worn by the wearer.

In use, the outer region 70 of each ear shade 44,46 may be positionablebetween a lowered position (see e.g., FIGS. 1-5, 7, 8, and 11) and araised position (see e.g., FIGS. 9 and 10). When positioned in thelowered position, the outer regions 70 of the ear shades 44,46 mayextend outwards and downwards from the side regions 16,18 of the crownto cover an upper portion of a wearer's ear and provide shade to thewearer's ear. When in the raised position, the outer region 70 of eachear shade may extend upwards so that the outer side 54 of the ear shadeis positioned above the inner side 52 of the ear shade.

In one implementation, the inner side 52 of each ear shade 44,46 may besubstantially straight with the outer side 54 of the ear shade 44,46having a generally convex periphery for helping to provide a moretapered profile to the ear shades when in a lowered position. In oneexemplary embodiment, each ear shade 44, 46 may extend over betweenabout one fourth and about the entire ear of a wearer when positioned inthe lowered position and preferably, the ear shades 44,46 may extendbetween about one half and about three fourths the wearer's ear when inthe lowered position.

As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in one implementation, the front andback ends 48, 50 of each ear shade 44, 46 may include angled regions110, 112 adjacent the inner side of the respective ear shade 44, 46.These angled regions 110, 112 help to keep the contour of the ear shadesas smooth as possible against the crown 12 when the ear shades are in araised position.

When positioned in the raised position, the outer region 64 of each earshade 44,46 may be detachably couplable to an area of the associatedside region 16,18 of the crown 12 above the inner side 52 of therespective ear shade. In one embodiment, a pair of snap fasteners 72, 74may be provided to detachably couple the outer region 70 of each earshade 44,46 to the associated side region 16,18 of the crown 12 abovethe inner side of the ear shade. In an illustrative implementation, afirst snap fastener may be located towards the front end of each earshade and a second snap fastener may be located towards the back end ofeach ear shade. The first and second snap fasteners 72,74 of each earshade 44,46 may also be arranged so that they lie on a common line thatis generally parallel to the inner side 52 of the respective ear shade44,46 to help provide a satisfactory contouring of the ear shade 44, 46when fastened to the side region 16,18 of the crown 12 in the raisedposition. The first snap fastener may also be spaced apart from thefront end 48 of the corresponding ear shade and the second snap fastenermay be spaced apart from the 50 back end of the corresponding ear shadeto help hide the snap fasteners when each ear shade 44,46 is fastened inthe raised position. In an exemplary implementation, the first andsecond snap fasteners 72,74 may be spaced apart from each other betweenabout one inch and about four inches.

The cap 10 may further include a neck flap 76 that may be detachablycoupled to the back region 15 of the crown 12. The neck flap 76 may bedetachably coupled to the back region 15 of the crown 12 by a pluralityof snap fasteners 78, 80, 82 that help to ensure that the neck flap 76is properly aligned when attached to the crown 12. As another option,the neck flap 76 may be detachably coupled to the back region 15 of thecrown 12 by one or more hook and loop fasteners (e.g. such as the hookand loop fasteners known by the trade name VELCRO).

The neck flap 76 may have upper and lower edges 84, 86 and a pair ofside edges 88, 90 extending between the upper and lower edges of theneck flap. The upper edge 84 of the neck flap 76 may have a generallycamel-back contour with a convex center region 92 having a curve thatmatches a curve defined by the cutout 32 in the back region 15 of thecrown 12. The upper edge 84 of the neck flap 76 may also have sideportions 94, 96 that extend beneath the back ends 48 of the adjacent earshades 44,46 so that a portion of each ear shade 44,46 near the back end48 of the respective ear shade 44,46.

The lower edge 86 of the neck flap 76 may have a generally concavecontour for affording additional comfort to a wear's neck when thewearer wears the cap 10 with the neck flap 76 extending over thewearer's neck. In one embodiment, the lower edge 86 of the neck flap 76may have a greater radius of curvature than a radius of curvature of thecenter region 92 of the upper edge 84 of the neck flap 76 so that thecenter region 92 has a shaper curve than the lower edge 86 of the neckflap 76. The side edges 88, 90 of the neck flap 76 may taper downwardstowards the lower edge 86 of the neck flap 76 to provide more shade tothe exposed region of the back of a wearer's neck above a collar region.

In one embodiment, the neck flap may include a bottom slit 114 and apair of side slits 116, 118 that may help to drape the neck flap 76 onthe neck of a wearer more comfortably and to help fold the neck flap 76inside the crown 12 (see FIG. 15).

To couple the neck flap 76 to the back region 15 of the crown 12, asurface of the neck flap 76 adjacent the convex center region 92 may becoupled to an inside surface of the back region 15 of the crown 12adjacent the cutout 32 by the snap fasteners 78, 80, 82 (see e.g., FIG.13). In one embodiment, a first snap fastener may be provided todetachably couple an apex of the convex center region of the neck flapto a corresponding apex of the cutout in the back region of the crown.Second and third snap fasteners may also be provided to detachablycouple opposite side portions of the convex center region of the neckflap to corresponding side portion of the cutout.

With particular reference to FIGS. 6, 7 and 14, the cap 10 may alsoinclude a pair of side visors 98, 100 that may be detachably coupled tothe bill. Each side visor 98, 100 may include an attachment portion 102for attachment to the associated side edge of the bill 42 and a shadeportion 104 for providing shade to areas near a wearer's eyes.

The attachment portion 102 of each side visor 98, 100 may define alongitudinal channel 106 for receiving a portion of the associated sideedge of the bill 42 therein to attach the side visors 98, 100 to thebill 42. The longitudinal channel 106 of the attachment portion 102 ofeach side visor 98, 100 may have a pair of resiliently deflectable sidewalls that provide a biasing force towards each other when the side edgeof the bill is inserted into the longitudinal channel. This way, thebill may be pinched between the side walls when inserted into thelongitudinal channel to hold the side visor to the bill 42.

Each side visor 98, 100 may also have a concave inwards edge 108 that isshaped to match a convex contour of a corresponding region of the sideedge of the bill 42 adjacent the portion of the side edge of the billthat is received by the longitudinal channel of the attachment portionof the side visor. The shade portion 104 may also taper towards a frontedge of the shade portion.

In one embodiment the side visor may be constructed from an opaquematerial (e.g., an opaque plastic, fabric and/or paper material) toprevent light from passing through the side visors. In anotherembodiment, the shade portion and/or attachment portion of each sidevisor may be constructed from a transparent or translucent material(e.g., a clear or tinted plastic material) to permit the passage of somelight through the side visors. In addition, designs and logos and otherimages may be included on the side visors (e.g., a team logo on a shadeportion of a side visor) to help enhance the appeal of the side visor.

In one implementation, the front end 48 of each ear shade 44,46 mayoverlap over a back edge of a shade portion 104 of a corresponding sidevisor 98, 100 when the side visor is coupled to the associated side edgeof the bill 42 to help provide continuous shading around the side of thecap 10 between the ear shade 44, 46 and the bill 42.

The cap 10 may be constructed from a fabric having a UltravioletProtection Factor (UPF) rating of 10+ or greater to help afford furtherprotection from ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In a preferred embodiment,the cap 10 may be constructed from a fabric having a UPF rating of 45+or greater to provide further protection to a wearer's head fromultraviolet radiation. In one implementation, the fabric may even havean UPF rating of about 50+. UPF is a standard for rating fabrics. A UPFrating is an indication of how much UV radiation may be absorbed by thematerial. A UPF rating of 50 may reduce the skin's exposure to UVA andUVB by 50 times.

In one embodiment, each of the ear shades and/or the neck flap may bemay of two or more layers of fabric to help provide a more finished lookto the ear shades and neck flap, to help enhance the rigidity of theseelements, and to help provide additional sun screen protection to awearer's ears and neck.

In use, the cap 10 may be worn in the manner of a traditional baseballcap with the ear shades 44, 46 either in the raised position to exposethe wearer's ears or the lowered position to cover the wearer's ears.The wearer may also attach the neck flap 76 prior to wearing so thatwhen the cap 10 is worn, the neck flap 76 drapes over the back of thewearer's neck. The side visors 98, 100 may also be attached to the sidesof the bill 42 to provide further shade to the area of the wearer's facenear the eyes of the wearer.

When not needed the ear shades 44, 46 may be positioned in the raisedposition and secured to the side regions 16, 18 of the crown 12 with thesnap fasteners 72, 74 to securely hold the ear shades in the raisedposition.

As shown in FIG. 15, if the wearer does not wish to use the neck flap76, the wearer may also fold the neck flap 76 into the inside of thecrown 12 so that the neck flap 76 is stowed inside the crown when wornby a wearer. The head of the wearer inserted into the crown helps keepthe neck flap from unfolding out of the crown. In addition, the bottomand side slits 114, 116, 118 of the neck flap may also be used to formoverlapping portions of the neck flap 76 in the and provide a morerounded and smoother contour to the stored neck flap that may be morecomfortable when worn on the head of the wearer.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment shouldnot be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments, butshould be defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

1. A cap, comprising: a crown having a pair of side regions; a billextending from a front region of the crown; a pair of ear shades, eachear shade having an inner side coupled to an associated side region ofthe crown, the inner side of each ear shade being positioned above abottom edge of the crown so that the inner side is spaced above thebottom edge of the crown; and each ear shade being positionable betweena lowered position and a raised position, each ear shade covering anupper portion of a wearer's ear when positioned in the lowered position,and wherein, for each ear shade, an outer side of the respective earshade is located adjacent the associated side region of the crown abovethe inner side of the ear shade when the ear shade is positioned in theraised position.
 2. The cap of claim 1, wherein the inner side of eachear shade are coupled to the associated side region of the crown by atleast a double line of stitching extending along the inner side betweenfront and back ends of the respective ear shade.
 3. The cap of claim 2,wherein the front end of each ear shade is positioned adjacent stitchingon the crown between the associated side region and the front region ofthe crown so that a portion of the front end of the ear shade extendsover an adjacent back corner portion of the bill that is positionedadjacent a border defined by the stitching between the associated sideregion and front region of the crown.
 4. The cap of claim 2, wherein thefront end of each ear shade has a substantially straight inner segmentextending from the inner side of the ear shade towards an outer side ofthe ear shade and an arcuate outer segment located between the innersegment and the outer side of the ear shade.
 5. The cap of claim 4,wherein the inner segment is longer than the outer segment of the frontend of the ear shade.
 6. The cap of claim 4, wherein the back end ofeach ear shade has a generally arcuate outer periphery that has a radiusof curvature that decreases in a direction towards the inner side of theear shade.
 7. The cap of claim 1, wherein each ear shade has an outerregion detachably couplable to an area of the associated side region ofthe crown above the inner side of the ear shade when the ear shade ispositioned in the raised position.
 8. The cap of claim 7, wherein eachear shade is detachably coupled to the associated side region by a pairof snap fasteners when the ear shade is positioned in the raisedposition.
 9. The cap of claim 1, wherein each ear shade has alongitudinal fold extending between front and back ends of the earshade, the longitudinal fold dividing the ear shade into inner and outerregions, the inner region located between the inner side and thelongitudinal fold of the ear shade and the outer region located betweenan outer side and the longitudinal fold of the ear shade.
 10. The cap ofclaim 9, wherein the longitudinal fold of each ear shade is positionedcloser to the inner side than to the outer side of the ear shade. 11.The cap of claim 9, wherein the longitudinal fold is in a generallyparallel alignment with an adjacent position of the bottom edge of thecrown so that the inner region and a portion of the side region of thecrown located below the inner edge of the ear shade define a pocket forreceiving the upper portion of the wearer's ear when the ear shade ispositioned in the lowered position.
 12. The cap of claim 1, furthercomprising a neck flap detachably coupled to a back region of the crown.13. The cap of claim 12, wherein the neck flap is detachably coupled tothe back region of the crown by a plurality of snap fasteners.
 15. Thecap of claim 13, wherein the neck flap has an upper edge having a convexcenter region, wherein a surface of the neck flap adjacent the convexcenter region is coupled to an inside surface of the back region of thecrown by the snap fasteners.
 16. The cap of claim 15, wherein a firstsnap fastener detachably couples an apex of the convex center region ofthe neck flap to the inner surface of the crown; and second and thirdsnap fasteners detachably couple opposite side portions of the convexcenter region of the neck flap to the inner surface of the crown; 17.The cap of claim 1 further comprising a pair of side visors detachablycoupled to the bill.
 18. The cap of claim 17, wherein each side visorhas an attachment portion for attachment to the associated side edge ofthe bill and a shade portion, the attachment portion of each side visorhaving a longitudinal channel for receiving a portion of the associatedside edge of the bill therein to attache the side visors to the bill.19. The cap of claim 1, wherein the cap is constructed from a fabrichaving a UPF rating of 10+ or greater.
 20. A cap, comprising: a crownhaving a front region, a back region, a pair of side regions, anexterior, an interior and a bottom edge, the interior of the crownhaving a headband extending along the bottom edge of the crown adjacentthe front and side regions of the crown; the back region of the caphaving a cutout located adjacent the bottom edge of the crown and a pairof adjustable straps extending across the cutout along the bottom edgeof the crown, the cutout having an arcuate periphery, the cutoutdefining a rear break in the headband and a pair of opposing ends of theheadband, each strap having an end coupled to an associated end of theheadband, the straps being coupled to each other, wherein a hook andloop faster detachably couples the straps together; a bill extendingfrom the front region of the crown; a pair of ear shades, each ear shadecoupled to an associated side region of the crown, each ear shade havingfront and back ends, and inner and outer sides extending between thefront and back ends of the respective ear shade, the inner side each earshade being coupled to the associated side region of the crown so that aportion of the back end of the ear shade is positioned adjacent acorresponding portion of the cutout located adjacent one of the ends ofthe headband, wherein the inner side of each ear shade is coupled to theassociated side region of the crown by at least a double line ofstitching extending along the inner side to the front and back ends ofthe respective sides, wherein the inner side of each ear shade ispositioned above the bottom edge of the crown so that a lower line ofthe stitching coupling the ear shade to the crown is spaced above thebottom edge of the crown; the front end of each ear shade having asubstantially straight inner segment extending from the inner side ofthe ear shade towards the outer side of the ear shade and an arcuateouter segment located between the inner segment and the outer side ofthe ear shade, wherein the portion of the front end of the ear shadeextending over the back corner region of the crown is located in theinner segment of the front end of the ear shade, wherein the inner sideof the ear shade is substantially straight and the outer side of the earshade has a generally convex periphery; the back end of each ear shadehaving a generally arcuate outer periphery that has a radius ofcurvature that decreases in a direction towards the inner side of theear shade so that a first segment of the back end near the inner side ofthe ear shade curves more sharply than a second segment of the back endlocated near the outer side of the ear shade; each ear shade having alongitudinal fold extending between the front and back ends of the earshade, the longitudinal fold dividing the ear shade into inner and outerregions, the inner region located between the inner side and thelongitudinal fold of the ear shade and the outer region located betweenthe outer side and the longitudinal fold of the ear shade, wherein thelongitudinal fold is positioned closer to the inner edge than to theouter edge of the ear shade, wherein the longitudinal fold is in agenerally parallel alignment with an adjacent position of the lower edgeof the crown so that the inner region and a portion of the side regionof the crown located below the inner edge of the ear shade define apocket; the outer region of each ear shade being positionable between alowered position and a raised position, the outer region extendingoutwards and downwards from the associated side region of the crown whenpositioned in the lowered position to cover an upper portion of awearer's ear and provide shade to the wearer's ear; the outer region ofeach ear shade being detachably couplable to an area of the associatedside region of the crown above the inner side of the ear shade whenpositioned in the raised position, wherein a pair of snap fastenersdetachably couples the outer region of each ear shade to the associatedside region of the crown above the inner side of the ear shade; a neckflap detachably coupled to the back region of the crown by a pluralityof snap fasteners; a pair of side visors detachably coupled to the bill;and wherein the cap is constructed from a fabric having a UPF rating of10+ or greater.